diff --git a/format.c b/format.c
index 6eeb028e..d323d32f 100644
--- a/format.c
+++ b/format.c
@@ -873,8 +873,7 @@ format_defaults_pane(struct format_tree *ft, struct window_pane *wp)
 	format_add(ft, "pane_synchronized", "%d",
 	    !!options_get_number(&wp->window->options, "synchronize-panes"));
 
-	if (wp->tty != NULL)
-		format_add(ft, "pane_tty", "%s", wp->tty);
+	format_add(ft, "pane_tty", "%s", wp->tty);
 	format_add(ft, "pane_pid", "%ld", (long) wp->pid);
 	if ((cwd = osdep_get_cwd(wp->fd)) != NULL)
 		format_add(ft, "pane_current_path", "%s", cwd);